1/13/2003

On January 13, 2003, “President Bush summoned Secretary of State Colin Powell for a 12-minute Oval Office meeting to say he had decided on war with Iraq. …The president very reluctantly confirmed to me [journalist Bob Woodward] that he had asked Powell directly for his support but added testily a rather obvious point. ‘I didn’t […]

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1/13/2003

“…on January 13 [2003], [President] Bush told [Secretary of State Colin] Powell… ‘I really think I’m going to have to take this guy [Saddam Hussein] out…’ ”  – Elisabeth Bumiller, Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, Page 201 […]

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1/13/2003

Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with President Bush after a meeting in the Oval Office on January 13, 2003. “As Powell remembered the conversation, Bush said, ‘ *I really think I’m going to have to take this guy [Saddam] out.* And I said, ‘Okay, we’ll continue to see if we can find a diplomatic […]

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1/13/2003

On January 13, 2003, Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar al Sultan met with President Bush. “…the president said that he was receiving advice and reports from some in his administration that in the event of war he [Bush] would have to contend with a massive Arab and Islamic reaction that would put American interests at risk… […]

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1/13/2003

On January 13, 2003, “Lieutenant General Michael Hayden, the NSA [National Security Agency] director, met with his agency’s top officials…for a highly classified ‘town meeting.’…[Hayden] formally issued what was called a ‘Statement of Director’s Intent’ for a war with Iraq.”  – Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, Pages 268-269 […]

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1/11/2003

Vice President Dick “Cheney invited [Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar al Sultan] to his West Wing office on Saturday, January 11, 2003. [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld and JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] Chairman General Richard B. Myers were also there….One purpose of the meeting was to convince Bandar that US forces would have to be […]

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1/11/2003

Then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote: “On January 11, 2003, I approved the deployment of an additional thirty-five thousand troops, with aircraft and warships, to the Gulf region, sending still another signal [to Saddam] that the time for cooperation was dwindling.”  – Donald Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown, Page 443 […]

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1/10/2003

“At 2:15 PM on January 10 [2003], [President] Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney met privately with three leading Iraqi dissidents [director of a foundation promoting human rights Rend Francke, a doctor from Tikrit Hatem Mukhlis, and author Kanan Makiya] in the Oval Office. The president was blunt….’I believe Saddam Hussein is a threat to […]

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1/9/2003

“On January 9, 2003, [General Counsel of the U.S. Navy Alberto] Mora had a second meeting with [legal counsel to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld] Jim Haynes. …Haynes defended the tough new [interrogation] tactics. …Mora also warned Haynes that the legal opinions that the [Bush] administration was counting on to protect itself might not withstand […]

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1/9/2003

Referring to Iraq, White House spokesman “Ari Fleischer announced again on January 9, 2003: ‘We know for a fact that there are weapons there.’ ”  – Bob Woodward, State of Denial, Page 139 […]

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